With the first heat wave of the season about to impact the mid-state the NLCRPD reminds motorists to be aware of the risk of leaving children or pets unattended in locked vehicles for any period – not matter how brief.

There are other dangers to children in and around cars that you should know. For example, heatstroke can occur when a child is left unattended in a parked vehicle or gains unsupervised access. Never leave children alone in the car—not even for a few minutes. Vehicles heat up quickly. Even if the outside temperature is in the 70s and the windows are cracked, the temperature in a vehicle can rapidly reach deadly levels. A child’s body temperature rises 3 to 5 times faster than that of an adult.